Holidays

May an ebay seller set his auction to conclude on Shabbos? May one rent advertising space on his website to others for an entire week, including Shabbos?

Should a person worry about ayin hara? What are the most effective defenses against ayin hara?

May one who will be on an airplane for an entire night of Chanukah use a flashlight for ner Chanukah?

If it is difficult for someone to make it to shul, may he hear krias haTorah or Megillas Esther read over the telephone?

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Rav Zev Smith is a popular maggid shiur and much sought-after speaker on halachic issues who has thousands of recorded shiurim in circulation on a wide range of interesting and relevant, day-to-day topics. His unique blend of halachah and hashkafah, and his knack for explaining difficult concepts in a down-to-earth, practical way, draw both scholars and laymen who seek a thorough grasp of halachah topics. In this fascinating book, he and Rabbi Dovid Kaiser, a previously published author of Torah works as well as a maggid shiur in halachah, have adapted some of the best of Rav Smith's halachah shiurim into written form.
Arranged according to the months of the year, What's the Halachah? follows a specific, reader-friendly format. Each chapter begins with a set of intriguing questions on a topic in halachah, which is followed by a broad discussion of the halachic issues the topic involves. The chapter concludes with an application of the information discussed to the initial queries.

What's the Halachah? is a book that will do more than just teach you halachah; it will open before you the vastness and the beauty of the world of halachah. Learn More

When understood properly, the Jewish holidays are inspirational, joyous, and profound. This monumental book contains nearly a thousand concise insights into all the Torah and Rabbinic festivals, as well as sections on the Days of Awe, the Three Weeks, and Tishah B'Av, compiled by renowned Rosh Kollel and talmid chacham Rabbi Binyamin Wurzburger. The author has drawn from his immense breadth of knowledge to provide the reader with a treasury of original ideas of the great commentators throughout the ages. Extensively sourced, the book is a fascinating and eclectic collection of concepts culled from lesser-known commentaries.With this comprehensive anthology of Yom Tov thoughts - many presented to the English-speaking reader for the first time - both scholars and laymen can indeed celebrate "A Festival of Torah." Learn More

The verse says, "You shall rejoice on your Festival" (Devarim 16:14) and what better way to rejoice during the Yom Tov than by learning short bursts of inspiring Torah - to enjoy and share at the Yom Tov table?

This is exactly what Rabbi Dov Ber Weisman sets out to achieve. With golden nuggets of Torah from many different sources, your Yom Tov is bound to be uplifted. Learn More

We don't often get a chance to ask penetrating questions of our family or friends. The one time in the week when we can learn - and be inspired by the thoughts and life experiences of others - is Shabbos or Yom Tov. But how can we bring that about? How can we engage family, friends and guests so that we make the relevant Torah portion come alive?

Welcome to Our Table shows exactly how. It provides a user-friendly guide to help one and all make the most of the Shabbos and Yom Tov experience. And, while it will not deliver the food to your table, it will deliver the rest - amazing Torah wisdom, insightful questions and inspiring stories From Our Table to Yours! Learn More

You love it at your Shabbos table. Now you can enjoy What If? on all the Jewish holidays!

It is Rosh Hashanah. A man holding a shofar is going to blow for a sick friend. A car pulls up and the driver says, “I'm Jewish. Would you mind blowing that shofar for me?Should he blow the shofar while yom tov is clearly being desecrated

Boaz built a huge succah for his restaurant - and now patrons of other kosher eateries are using it, and his own customers have to wait. Can he ask the others to leave?

A pre-Pesach food drive is hurting local groceries. Can the merchants demand that the food distribution be stopped?

The bestselling and beloved What If? series has become a welcome staple at our Shabbos tables. Based on the popular Hebrew-language series Chashukei Chemed, written by noted rav and posek Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein shlita, and translated and arranged by Rabbi Moshe Sherrow, every volume in the What If? series includes hundreds of real-life halachic questions, each accompanied by a brief, practical scenario to illustrate the case, and an answer that is understandable and easy to follow. Make your holiday table extra-special with the great conversation starter, What If on Yamim Tovim.

The bestselling author who explained and illuminated some of the most cryptic topics in Tanach - now provides us with a guide to an event we read about every year, yet is misunderstood and misinterpreted by so many.

Megillas Rus - read in shul on Shavuos, the yahrzeit of her descendant, Dovid Hamelech. Who was this righteous convert, and how did she merit becoming the wife of the Shofet Yisroel and the matriarch of the Davidic dynasty, culminating in Melech HaMoshiach? What motivated this Moavite princess to marry a Jew, and to follow her mother-in-law to Eretz Yisroel? How do we understand the plan arranged by her mother-in-law, which seemed doomed to fail from the start? What lessons can we gain from her life and legacy?

For decades, students and educators alike have turned to Rabbi Gershon Weiss' works in an effort to understand the story of Shimshon, as well as other episodes in Tanach and Jewish history, including the Holocaust. In Matriarch of King Dovid's Dynasty, Rabbi Weiss, esteemed rav, prolific writer, as well as Menahel Ruchani of Staten Island Yeshivah takes us through the entirety of the Megillah, with an extensive, enlightening commentary. Drawing upon numerous meforshim, the book provides readers with the means to emerge from this enigmatic part of Tanach with a lucid understanding of the events and their significance.

In addition to his exhaustive work on the story of Rus, in this book Rabbi Weiss also focuses on her great-grandson Dovid Hamelech and the challenges he faced throughout his life, drawing a parallel between his unique strengths and those of his forebear, Rus.

Matriarch of King Dovid's Dynasty is a critical tool, a must-have, for all those wishing to gain a thorough understanding of the Megillah and its significance.

Based on Shiurim by Rav Gershon Weiss
Adapted and compiled by Rabbi Eliezer Delman and Rabbi Rafael Lachman Learn More

An original and exciting modern-day portrayal of the bringing of the First Fruits to the Beis Hamikdash

Bikkurim is a very special mitzvah. Every mitzvah is special, of course ...But the mitzvah of bikkurim is unique because it was a major event. Masses of Yidden participated, and it was always very moving and extraordinary.

The bikkurim were not brought by individuals, all the people of an area went together. They made their way to Yerushalayim in a huge procession, with singing and dancing. Many people joined them along the way. Can you imagine how wonderful the scene was? How much joy was in the air? How much excitement?

In this book-which is entirely imaginary-we will try to experience a bit of the simchah and kedushah we would absorb, if we had the Beis Hamikdash in our day.

Hopefully, Hashem will bring the geulah sheleimah and rebuild the Beis Hamikdash very soon, so we can once again bring our bikkurimthere, with great joy, each and every year! Learn More

It’s exciting and interactive for children to guess the rhyming Shavuos riddles, then open the flap to reveal the answers. Cleverly designed so the very young will learn as they go… all about the giving of the Torah, the special holiday mitzvos and foods, the customs and observances of Shavuos, and more!

“Hashem had a special gift to give-

His Torah that teaches the way to live.

Each year, I am the yom tov when,

The Jews accept the Torah again!

Who am I?*

Bright, colorful illustrations of a joyous family celebration bring the holiday to life. This sturdy, hard bound book makes a great gift for boys and girls ages 3 and up. Perfect for preschool classrooms, story time and children’s parties!

As in Hilchos Shabbos, in Hilchos Yom Tov we have followed the "derech kitzora" (path of brevity), and have concentrated primarily on acquainting the reader with the main principles of the laws of Yom Tov. In addition, we have presented a number of practical applications. Thus, one will be equipped to ask one's Rav for further guidance after studying this sefer.

In Hilchos Shabbos we organized the sefer in accordance with the sequence used by the Chayei Adam in his sefer Zichru Toras Moshe. Likewise, in Hilchos Yom Tov as well, we have organized the sefer according to the arrangement of the Chayei Adam, which follows the order of the thirty-nine Melachos. Thus, each chapter in this sefer parallels the corresponding chapter in Kitzur Hilchos Shabbos.

The advantage to this system is that one who has already studied the laws of Shabbos from our sefer can now easily find the halachos of Yom Tov relevant to that subject in the same chapter as that topic is discussed in Hilchos Shabbos. Moreover, within each chapter, one can frequently follow the order of the numbers assigned to each subtopic, and thereby see how the halacha in regard to Yom Tov differs from Shabbos. Learn More

Have you ever seen something in a new light, to the point that you can't remember how you ever understood it before?

Have you ever taken a few moments to 'look a little deeper'?

For twenty-three years, Rabbi Judah Gross has been asking good questions, finding impressive answers, and collecting fascinating ideas.

In this unique and impressive work, for the first time, his insights are available to all.

Approbations:

"My beloved student and colleague, Judah Gross, has applied himself to record his insights… His comments are meaningful and valuable and anyone that will study them will gain knowledge, thought, inspiration and joy of discovery from them… I extend in these words of mine to him my admiration and great affection."

Rabbi Berel Wein

"There are seforim written that are a product of a person; and then there are seforim written that are somehow a statement of the very person himself. Reb Judah Gross has produced that very type of sefer."

Rabbi Ahron Shraga Lopiansky

About the Author:

Rabbi Judah Grosswas born in New York, Y, attended Yeshiva Shaarei Torah under the auspices of Rabbi Berel Wein, Shlita, and learned under his Rebbe muvhak, Rav Aryeh Rottman Shlita at Yeshiva Mercaz HaTorah. He received smicha from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg Shlita, kabala in shchita from Rav Dovid Benzion Klein, and learned mila and safrus under Harav Yehuda Giat. Additionally, Rabbi Gross has an M.B.A. From Bar Ilan University and holds a Black Belt in Tae Kwan Do. Learn More